


Flame and Frost

by asteroidhearts



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Jealous Loki, Love, OC is kinda inhuman, Original Character(s), Romance, Sad, i hope i make you shiver with the slight sexy time(s), it's amazing i love it, pretty swell kiss if you ask me, slight sexy time ohohoh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 20:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5641222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asteroidhearts/pseuds/asteroidhearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was no way in all of the nine realms that you would ever, ever, set your eyes on him.  After all, who would fall for someone so destructive… and damaged?  Why would you notice him when the great captain is in the picture?</p><p>But maybe… maybe he’s already been noticed.  He just doesn’t yet know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hullo! been a long time.
> 
> this is an actual OC fic. OC's name is Eli. i struggled to find a name that meant "fire" or "flame", and then i settled for Eli, because it was the most decent one in my opinion. i didn't wanna go with extremely bizarre names like "Vesta" or "Seraphine". i was gonna go for "Kenna" but then i was like nah.
> 
> but you can replace her name with yours if you'd like. for some reason, reader-insert seems to work better when there's an actual OC. or idk, that's just my personal opinion.
> 
> Loki is highly convinced that Eli and Rogers are an item. of course, he couldn't be any more wrong.
> 
> please enjoy and leave some love. <3

 

_You were a risk,_

_A mystery,_

_And the most certain_ _thing that I’ve ever known._

\- Beau Taplin

 

 

The swimming pool in the Avengers Tower is roughly the size of a quarter of an NFL football field.  It glistens almost golden, basking in the sunlight pouring through the glass windows.  As any other swimming pool, its depth starts little – at five feet – and gets deeper and deeper to ten feet the farther one swam.  The only thing that makes it unique from other pools is that it doesn’t smell like chlorine at all.  A small team of scientists in the facility discovered a way to remove the horrendous odor; the final product was placed into the Tower’s private pool.

 

Eli, the youngest member of Earth’s mightiest team, sets her towel on a chair and stares at the rippling water solemnly.  The pool area is so humid that sweat begins to glaze her arms.  She puts on her goggles and swimming cap, rubbing her hands together as she nears the edge of the pool.

 

She doesn’t notice the quiet man sitting on the highest row in the bleachers.  He is seated close to the windows, using the sunlight to read the leather-bound novel in his hand.  His shoulder-length black hair is slicked back, long legs folded over one another.  He is trying _very_ hard to concentrate on the book, on the story in his palms.

 

But Eli is in the pool area, and it’s always hard to focus whenever she’s in the same room as him.

 

Eli marches toward the diving board, carefully trudging close to the edge.  She breathes in deeply, her eyes shifting from the pool to the only other person in the room.

 

“Hey, Loki,” she waves at him with a kind smile.

 

Loki looks up from his book and merely glances back at her.  He gulps, blushing a little.  The corners of his lips twitch upwards, nodding at her in response.  She returns her attention to the pool, exhaling through a puckered mouth.

 

Even if it has only been five months, Loki has fully adjusted to life at the Tower.  He keeps to himself, though, mourning and self-blaming most of the time.  The only person who ever actually acknowledges his presence is Eli, something he secretly appreciates ever since the first day he set foot in the building.  In fact, he is the only person who knows about Eli’s frequent trips to the pool area.

 

As Eli stands on the diving board, she thinks about the very first interaction she and the Asgardian shared.  There had been an awkward silence in the living room after Thor re-introduced his brother, and she was the one who broke it, immediately warming up to him and even volunteering to show him to his temporary bedroom.  Loki had been silent the entire time, answering with small head motions or in a less-than-five-words sentence.  Now, five months later, he has warmed up, too.  A little.

 

He shows his fairly friendly side to Eli only.

 

Before Eli dives, Loki lets out an exasperated sigh and looks up.  His eyes travel over her body: perfectly slender but curvy in the right ways.  Her swimsuit hugged her torso and thighs snugly, revealing skin from the neck up, her muscular arms, and from mid-thigh down.  It accentuated her breasts and rear.  He gulps again, the red in his cheeks darkening.  He watches quietly as Eli bounces off from the board, springing upward with enough force to dive gracefully into the water in a perfect rainbow-shaped trail.  Water splashes all around, and the calm ripples became miniature tides.  He looks away, returning to the book, once Eli reaches the middle of the pool, swimming forward in swift strokes.

 

Loki bites his lip, sighing heavily.  There is no way in all of the nine realms that she would ever, ever, pay attention to him the way he wants her to.  She is one of them, one of Earth’s mightiest heroes, and what does he have to contend with that?  What would a perfectly good girl like her ever want in someone as despicable as him?

 

He sees her sometimes with that uncomfortably tight-suited captain, Rogers.  They blend so well together, complementing one another in ways that break his already-broken heart.  It always feels like a stab whenever Rogers puts his arm around Eli’s neck, placing her in a playful headlock.  It always feels like someone is sitting on his lungs whenever the two of them would laugh at an inside joke.  They make each other smile.  They make each other… _better_.

 

Sometimes, at night when he can’t sleep and would mull in the darkness of the kitchen, he would look on from the island as Eli and Rogers cuddle together on the couch while they watch one of those cartoon films, their closeness teetering over the edge of romantic with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her shoulders, playing with her hair absentmindedly.  Loki would hurriedly depart, wishing no more of that painful view.  In the confines of his room he would sulk, and a tear would often fall from his heavyset eyes.

 

Of course, it would be the two of them who would end up together.  He wouldn’t be surprised if, one of these days, they announce that they have decided to make their relationship public.

 

It wouldn’t be a surprise, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt just as much.

 

But they haven’t.  Every day, Loki would expect Roger’s booming voice or Eli’s sweet tones to gather the team so that the relationship would be announced.  With bated breath, Loki would wait, ready to hear the shattering of his bones, but nothing has come.  He hopes it would never.

 

Loki’s thoughts are broken with Rogers’s heavy footsteps as he dashes towards the pool.

 

“Eli?!”  He skids to a halt at the edge of the pool, not noticing Loki.  His eyes go large as the horror washes over him.  “ _ELI_!”

 

Rogers dives headfirst into the water, swimming to the floor where Eli lays immobile.  Loki’s eyes widen at Eli’s splayed figure.  He stands up and begins to run down the bleachers just as Rogers reaches the surface, his arm wrapped around Eli’s waist.  They tear the surface, rugged breathing coming from both the captain and the flamethrower.  Loki stops right in the first row with his mouth agape.

 

“Steve?!”  Eli gasped for air, placing her goggles on her forehead.  “What the-?!”

 

Steve frantically searches for Eli, then swims towards her immediately.  “You were on the floor; I thought you were drowning!”

 

Eli makes a face.  “ _What_?”

 

“You weren’t moving,” Steve says caringly, grasping her arm.  Loki is frozen, watching the scene before him unfold.  “Are you okay?  Are you hurt?”

 

Eli then bursts into a hysterical laughing fit.  “I was training, Steve!”

 

“How was that training?!  You have asthma!”

 

“Exactly!”

 

Eli laughs some more.  Steve watches her, his face contorted confusedly.  Eli coughs a little bit as her laughter subsides.

 

When she’s finally calmed down, she grins at him.  “I’m expanding my lung capacity by practicing holding my breath underwater.  I’ve been doing it for days now.”

 

Steve exhales a long and heavy breath, slightly relieved.  “You should’ve told us that you’ve been training this way, at least.”

 

“It’s not that big a deal,” Eli replies.  She nods to Loki’s direction.  “Loki knows, so it’s all good.”

 

Furrowing his eyebrows, he follows Eli’s eyes to Thor’s brother, whom he just now notices.  Steve’s bottom lip juts out in skepticism.

 

Eli sees it.  “Seriously, Steve.  I’m fine.  Thank you for ‘saving’ me; now go back to whatever you were doing before.”

 

“Just be careful next time.”  He says, holding her hand.  Eli smiles.

 

Loki holds his breath, turning around to climb up the bleachers back to his spot.  Why he always seems to become the sole onlooker of these two people’s blood-curdling flirting, he doesn’t know.  He doesn’t enjoy it at all.  It’s becoming harder and harder to endure as the days pass and the two become closer and closer.

 

It isn’t like he needs _more_ reminders that he will never, ever, _ever_ be hers.

 

“Okay, dad, move along,” Eli jokes, splashing Steve away.  Steve rolls his eyes and swims back.

 

Once he’s out of the water, he yells over his shoulder, “Don’t do anything crazy!”

 

“Mhmm.”  Eli slyly hums to herself.  She waits until Steve’s completely passed the threshold before turning to Loki.  Something mischievous is on her mind.  “Hey, Loki?”

 

Loki snaps to her immediately.  When Eli smirks at him, he almost melts.

 

She nods towards the door.  “Think you can lock it up for me?”

 

Without response, he snaps his fingers.  Eli always has this strange power over him – it doesn’t take a full second for him to obey her, whatever it is she asks of him.  The glass door slams in its place, clicking as it locked.

 

Eli beams at him adorably.  “Thanks, Frosty.”

 

Loki forces himself not to smile at the endearing term Eli coined for him.  He mumbles a quiet “Don’t mention it, Flicker”, still hopeful that Eli hears him.

 

She does, and her smile grows even bigger.

 

Consequently, Eli steers herself backward until her back hits the tiled wall of the pool.  She is hovering in the ten-foot area of the pool now, but even at five-feet five-inches, the depth isn’t that much of a problem to her.  She stills herself, relaxing her breathing and bringing her right hand up to surface.

 

Loki admires from afar the strength of her concentration.  Eli squints at her hand, directing her excessive body heat toward this singular appendage.  Not long after, the water on her palm sizzles away, evaporating into nothingness, leaving her hand dry.  Loki never tires of watching her play with her ability.  Though it serves as another thing that is different about the two of them, he particularly adores the way she is able to drown out her surroundings at will.  He likes being her solitary audience.

 

Eli snaps so loudly that the sound echoes throughout the room.  Immediately, a golf-sized flame dances just an inch above her palm.  She smiles at the red-orange little fireball, the flames painting her face with a soft red glow.  She flexes her arm, and the flame grows into the size of a tennis ball.

 

With fire floating in her hand, she turns to Loki.  “Have you ever wondered about what would happen if you put fire and ice together?”

 

Loki narrows his eyes at her.  He is nonplussed when she beckons him forward.  He obeys, descending all the way to edge of the pool.  He bends down on one leg, knee hovering above the floor.  If Eli had asked him to jump in and join her, he would.

 

“I don’t know if I like the sound of that,” he says somberly.

 

Eli raises her brows.  “Seriously?  Well, I, for one, am very curious.”

 

She returns her eyes to the fire.  It never fails to amaze her how she could actually set herself on fire (as she had done so many times before) without actually putting herself in fatal danger.  Of course, it put _other_ things and people in danger.  A mixed blessing, really, but she likes it nonetheless.

 

“So…” She begins.

 

Loki surveys her, green eyes curiously tracing over the outline of her profile.

 

She smirks at him again.  “Care to try?”

 

Loki cocks his head in doubt.  “I do not believe that would be wise.”

 

Eli purses her lips.  “Do you, really?”

 

He doesn’t respond, only nodding his head.  He smiles when Eli chuckles, the ball of fire in her hand quavering.  He likes the sound of her laughter the most when he is the reason behind it in spite of the rarity.

 

Suddenly, in the midst of her laughing, the fire grows.  Loki stumbles backward, falling on his rear as the fire widens into the size of almost half the room, gushing forward and creating a tsunami trail of pool water in its wake.  Eli’s face drops.  Immediately, she raises both hands toward the fire, stopping it just as it reaches the other end of the pool.  She leads the flame carefully down to the water, ignoring the crackle and hiss of the two elements meeting.  Once it fully dissipates, smoke billows from the surface but dies down before it could activate the fire alarm.

 

Eli swims to the edge and struggles to climb onto the concrete floor.  Water patters on the ground as she rushes over to Loki’s side, worry plastered all over her face.

 

“I’m so sorry, Loki, are you okay?  Did I hurt you?”  She checks him for any injury, drying herself in the process.  “Please, please, be okay…”

 

“I-I’m well, Eli,” Loki stammers.  He swallows nervously at her touches.  “I am unharmed.”

 

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.  I didn’t know –“

 

“Eli,” he says authoritatively, grabbing her hand.  Eli freezes.  He looks into her bright hazel eyes.  “There is nothing to worry yourself over.  I’m fine.”

 

Eli stares at her hand in his.  Her cheeks go pink.  She manages to snap out of it despite of the ruckus in her stomach.

 

“Do you believe me now?”  Loki poses, grinning a little sadly.  “If fire and water can’t mix, fire and ice will only be trouble.”

 

Eli looks down at the floor, chewing on her lip.  She looks up at him, eyes squinting a bit.  “It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

 

Loki chuckles, and Eli’s eyes get bigger at the glorious sound.

 

He calms down, his fingers intertwining so naturally with hers.  “Unfortunately, nature does not allow it.”

 

Eli’s ears thump with the drumming of her heartbeat; it’s almost like a parade in her ears.  As Loki gazes intensely at her face, eyes flitting from her eyes down to her lips, she gulps.  Her hand rests so _perfectly_ in Loki’s that it’s almost hard to let go.  Until she does.

 

“Party-pooper.”  Eli mutters.  She stands on her feet, diving back into the water and swimming to the floor like a mermaid.

 

Loki gets back on his feet, watching her distorted figure scale the bottom of this gigantic basin.  He makes an about-face right when Eli resurfaces.  She climbs out of the pool and walks to the chair to grab her towel, using it to dry her hair.  Draping it over her shoulders, she calls out to the raven-haired man.

 

“You coming?”  She asks, nodding towards the door.

 

Loki turns to her and gives her a small smile.  “Later, perhaps.”

 

Eli returns it.  “Okay.  See you in a bit.”

 

She watches as he returns to the topmost row, leaning against the wall behind him and reopening his book.  She falls into a weird trance where she’s just watching him read.  The incredible distance between them doesn’t do anything to suppress the harsh beating of her heart.  Her cheeks warm intensely, causing her to make a bee-line for the door.

 

Later that night, she and Steve lie on her bed together with their backs against the headboard and her head on his chest, bundled in a thick blanket and lamplight.  The scene is innocent, of course.  She just called for a _red shield_ meeting after dinner, which is code for “Steve, I’m going through something, and I really need your help, so please meet me in my room.  I’ll leave the door unlocked.”

 

For the past hour, it had only been Eli speaking.  She poured her heart out to the soldier.  When she finished, it felt as though a heavy load was lifted from her chest, like she could breathe more easily now.

 

After a long silence, Steve asks her in a soft voice.  “So, you really like him?”

 

Eli stays quiet.  She only nods her head.  Steve promptly wraps an arm around her.

 

“Oh, Eli,” he coos, scooting closer to her and gripping her shoulder firmly.

 

She looks up at him, helpless.  “What do I do, Steve?  I mean, I don’t even know if this is right.  And he and I… There’s almost nothing that we have in common.”

 

He begins to comb her hair with his long fingers, resting his chin on top of her head.

 

“Sometimes…” she hesitates before she says the one thing that’s been bothering her ever since her feelings began blossoming.  “Sometimes I feel like he doesn’t even want me to be there with him.”

 

“He acknowledges you though, doesn’t he?”

 

“Yeah, but only when I initiate,” she says.  Then she smiles, recollecting what happened at the pool earlier.

 

Steve glances at her face.  “Hm.  You’re smiling.  What happened?”

 

“He held my hand,” she whispers, a little giddy.  “He just kind of… took my hand, and then he held it.  Like this.”

 

Eli proceeded to demonstrate Loki’s action, grabbing Steve’s hand.  She lets her fingers fall in the spaces between Steve’s fingers.  She notes the huge contrast in the fit: her hand somehow feels loose in Steve’s hand.  It was home in Loki’s.

 

Steve’s eyebrows lift to his forehead.

 

Eli furrows hers.  “What?”

 

He tilts his head to the side.  “If he held your hand like this… that’s not a _friendly_ gesture.”

 

Eli’s eyebrows level.  She lets go of Steve’s hand, dropping her hand in her lap.  She sighs, closing her eyes and snuggling closer into Steve’s chest.

 

Still, is it possible?

 

“It’s possible,” Steve whispers in her ear.

 

Her eyes shoot open.  “You’re such a mom.”

 

Steve chuckles, leaving a soft peck on Eli’s forehead.  “Good night, Eli.”

 

Right before Steve opens the door, Eli calls to him.  “Hey, Cap?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thank you.  Sincerely.”

 

Steve gives her a side glance, nodding and locking the door as softly as he could.

 

He doesn’t notice the shadow of a man at the end of the hallway watching him walk off from Eli’s room.  He heard the _giggling_ coming from her room, barely stomached it, but forced himself to stay and listen.  Who knew what they were doing in there for an _hour_.  When Rogers finally rounds the corner, Loki emerges from where he had been hiding.

 

He stares longingly at the silver door to Eli’s bedroom.  If he could, he would barge right in and remind her just how much she means to him.  If he could, he would show her just how much power she holds over him.  He would fill her entire body with his name and his name only, leaving her drenched in sweat and desperately panting for air.  He would set her on fire until she has only him on her mind and on her lips.  He would linger beside her even after the sun had risen over the horizon, relishing the feel of her fiery skin against the coldness of him.

 

But he can’t.  And he wouldn’t.  He would never.  There’s no chance.

 

Not ever.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

Eli groans for the hundredth time, pushing her glasses up her nose with the side of her hand.

 

“Just keep trying, Eli,” Steve advises for the hundredth time, an amused look on his face.

 

Eli fixes the music sheets on the stand one-handedly, her violin and bow in the other.  Automatically, Steve stands and brings her a cold glass of water.  She is so frustrated that Steve can actually see the thinnest of smokes rise from her skin.

 

“Give it another go.”

 

“I just can’t seem to get it _right_ ,” Eli breathes, gulping down half the glass.  She hands it back to him, scratching her head.  “It’s so upsetting.”

 

“Well, you’re actually _smoking_ ,” Steve says, pointing at her sizzling arms.  “So, just relax, take a breath, and give it a few more tweaks.”

 

She glances at her arms and sighs.  Loki walks into the room, unsurprised to see her and him, again.  It’s like wherever he goes, they’re already there.

 

Eli sees him immediately.  She smiles at him with all her might, summoning her jolliest voice.  “Morning, Loki.”

 

Loki nods in response, his face blank.  He didn’t even blush, which is a surprise.  Usually, his face would be as red as a tomato at the sight of Eli in glasses, loose tank top, and sweat pants, her wavy hair unruly.  To him, she looks stunning in whatever, but even more when she is in effortless garb.

 

Eli shoots Steve a look.  Steve cranes his neck around, analyzing the man as he searches the refrigerator.  He raises a knowing eyebrow at Eli.  The girl shakes her head, clearing her throat.

 

“I feel like the chorus should be higher.  What do you think?”

 

Steve jumps in, just as normal.  “Try it out; see if it works.”

 

Eli groans as Steve sits back down.  “Help a fellow artist out, Steve.  Sheesh.”

 

“Hey, I _draw_.  I don’t play the violin.”

 

Loki thinks darkly to himself, _Oh, how lovely.  They’ve already got a banter._   A potato rolls out and nearly falls on his foot.  He forcefully shoves it into the far back of the fridge.  In all honesty, he doesn’t exactly know what he’s looking for, or if he’s even looking for anything at all.

 

Eli picks up the pencil on the coffee table and scribbles onto one of the sheets.  Pushing her glasses up again, she sticks the pencil between her teeth, humming the new melody to herself.  She nods in approval, placing the pencil on the stand.

 

“Remember: just relax.  Don’t burn anything down.  You’ll be great,” Steve says like the caring boyfriend he is.  Loki rolls his eyes.

 

Eli sucks in a deep breath, placing the violin back under her jaw.  She plays out the notes that she had been working on for the past three hours.  Steve, the ever-patient friend, has been there for two and a half hours, listening to the same song and the same grumbling without once getting tired of it.

 

In truth, Eli is composing a song as a way to, well, contain herself.  She barely slept last night, staring at her hand like the hopeless romantic she is.  Two hours before sunrise, she finally closed her eyes, cuddling her hand close to her chest.  The song is supposed to convey her feelings about Loki.  She hates that it can’t seem to be perfect.  She hates that she can’t seem to perfect it.

 

Once Loki hears the beautiful melody, he turns to where the sound is coming from.  His jaw drops as he watches Eli play.  It had been a common knowledge among the Avengers that Eli could play five instruments, including the violin.  Loki has never seen her play live, and the sight is truly heart-stopping.

 

Just when he was beginning to think she couldn’t be any more stunning, she comes out and does this.

 

He is entranced.  His heart could probably jump out of his chest and do somersaults on the kitchen island.  It is the most breathtaking song he has ever heard, amplified to infinite beauty by the fact that Eli is the one playing it.  He is rendered motionless by the music.  His feet drag him forward to Eli.  He has the sudden urge to embrace her and praise her, from now till the end of time.

 

He stops when Eli stops.  He stops because Rogers beat him to it.

 

“That was _fantastic_ , Eli!”  Rogers jumps to his feet and runs to Eli, enveloping her in his large arms.

 

Eli feigns choking noises.  “Thank you but please let me go – can’t – breathe! – _Steve_!”

 

Steve only chortles, pinching her cheek.  “I knew you would be great.”

 

Loki’s blood boils to a temperature that would make Eli proud.  With a low grumble, he storms out of the room, unsure of where to go but certain that he wants to get as far away from them as possible.  Eli becomes overcome with anxiety when she sees Loki depart the room looking like he could wreck the entire building to shambles.

 

“That doesn’t look good,” Eli mumbles, extracting herself from Steve.

 

“What are you waiting for?”  Steve nudges her along.  “Go follow him!”

 

Eli thinks it over, then she shoves her violin and bow towards Steve, running in the direction that Loki disappeared off into.

 

At first she doesn’t know where to go.  Upon reaching the elevator, however, she figures out exactly where she needs to be.

 

Quietly, she peers into the pool area.  She catches a glimpse of black hair in the stands.  In her head, she weighs the possibility of what would happen if she entered.  She is still slightly confused – about what Steve said last night, about Loki’s angered departure, about everything.  She bites her lip, swallows her doubt, and opens the door, surprised to discover that it isn’t locked.

 

Loki knows Eli has entered.  Even so, he doesn’t shift on the bleacher.  Blood doesn’t rush up his neck to his cheeks.  He stays immobile, hands locked in fists, the skin over his knuckles pulled taut that it is white.

 

She pads softly toward him, climbing the bleachers to the second row where he is sitting, perfectly centered.  She decides to sit on his left.  When she does, Loki huffs through his nostrils, turning away a little.  She isn’t fazed.

 

“I…”

 

She attempts to utter another word, but nothing comes out.

 

She tries again.  “Will you… Will you tell me what’s on your mind?”

 

Loki continues glaring at the far wall ahead.

 

“Please?”

 

He lets a full thirty seconds pass before he speaks.  His voice is low and husky, and the words he drops are sharp.

 

“Nobody will ever notice someone who is known for his destructive nature,” he says.  “He will live in the shadows for all eternity, ignored and uncared for.”

 

“Loki…”

 

“I destroy, Eli,” he says, glaring at Eli’s drooping head.  “This is not my place.  I do not belong here.  Everyone I know has boxed me as the wrecker.  I am damaged; I cannot and will never be known for who I truly am.”

 

Eli places a firm hand on Loki’s arm.  He is forced to look at her, in the hazel eyes he is trying to deny and set aside.  But he is failing.

 

 _Thank goodness_ , he is failing.

 

“Listen here,” Eli says, maintaining eye contact, ignoring the rowdiness behind her ribcage.  “No one’s innocent.  Okay?  Destroying is part of who we all are.  And you know I’m telling the truth here.”

 

Loki searches her face, his mind returning to the fire fiasco which took place in this same place just yesterday.  Why is she always so kind?  Why does she have to make everything so simple?

 

“It’s been so long, Loki,” she says, her voice as low as a whisper.  “Try to do a little less self-blaming, and start forgiving yourself.  It’s not okay, not yet, but it won’t be like this forever.”

 

Loki can’t help his face from softening at her words.  A smile tugs at his lips, but he doesn’t let it fester.  Instead, he looks away, no longer angry, but still broken.  Still holding so many questions in his head.

 

“Talk to me,” Eli pleads, shaking his arm.

 

He hesitates before asking, “Will you forgive me for asking this?”

 

Eli cocks her head in confusion, but nods anyway.

 

“You and… Is there anything going on between you and Rogers?”

 

Eli stares at him, a slow smile creeping up onto her face but not her eyes.  Loki’s heart almost drops, but the shake of her head pulls him back.

 

“No,” Eli says sweetly, almost happily, eyes on the floor.  “Steve is still very much in love with the same woman.  After all these years.  He and I are just really good friends.  Perhaps _too_ good…”

 

Eli’s mind begins to race the moment she stops talking.  Why did he ask?  Does he…?  Is he… jealous?

 

She turns to him, serious.  “Is that… Is that why you left?”

 

Loki immediately looks away in an attempt to hide his reddening face.  His cheeks fire up even more when Eli places her left hand on his face, forcing him to look back at her.  Time ticks, in seconds, then Eli decides to close the distance between them.

 

It’s a quick kiss, but enough to render Loki paralyzed.

 

Eli doesn’t know why she did that.  Well, she does, but she doesn’t know where she got the courage.

 

Panicking, she merely shrugs.  “It was worth a shot.”

 

And then Loki reaches over and places a hand on the back of her neck, pulling her towards him.  Eli mumbles something that becomes incomprehensible as she lets herself ease into the kiss.  This is good.  This is very good.  Loki is very good.  Yes.  Eli wants this for all eternity.

 

His mouth travels to her neck, and Eli shivers, her grasp on his arms tightening.  Her breath becomes staggered as Loki snakes an arm around her waist, up inside her tank top.  He traces her torso, slowly pinning Eli down on the bleacher, his lips on her collar bone.

 

“ _Ah_ … Wait, wait, w-wait,” Eli gasps, holding his face.  Loki looks up at her questioningly, his eyes filled with something that made Eli shudder.  “Not here.  Not yet.”

 

As a response, Loki plants a trail of butterfly kisses from her chest to the length of her neck, her jaw, then her mouth.  Eli nibbles on his bottom lip, making him growl.

 

“Worth a shot,” Eli says, gulping.  She grins.  “Worth the shot.”

 

Loki smiles, his eyes still glazed, before picking Eli up bridal style.  Eli squeals, both nervous and excited.  There’s still some work to be done, some questions that need answering.  Who knows how long that will take.


End file.
